New Danganronpa V3 : 道の終わり
by KaoruAdachi
Summary: 15 new students find themselves plunged into a Killing Game, ultimately being controlled by a malicious teddy bear and his 5 "children". Trapped in the abandoned school of the Prison School for the Gifted, with the only way out resulting in murder have having to get away with it, only one question remains, who can you really trust?
1. Part ?-? : Fear of the Unknown

The ticking of the clock echoed, setting off a sort of monotonous tone.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

 _It chimed._

 _Then, it stopped._

I could only hear my own heavy breathing, as I slowly fluttered my eyes while I lifted my head. My vision was blurry and distorted at best, and I could tell that the room lacked any source of light. So... darkness. I was engulfed in darkness. Silence had filled this darkened room I was trapped in, too.

'Where am I?' I thought to myself, looking around the small and confined space. I could barely move. In fact, it felt like I was being squished. It was getting to a point where it became very uncomfortable.

Suddenly, I could make out a hint of light that shined through the gaps of what was in front of me. I reached out my hand, pushing an unknown source in front of me. The "door" of this rusty place slowly creaked open, as I stumbled out of whatever I was in.

I turned my head around.

 _Eh? Why was I in a locker?_

I turned my attention towards my surroundings.

I had stumbled into some sort of classroom. The chalkboard was glowing a strange green, it was probably a screen. There was a monitor plastered onto the wall, hanging above the screen. Red vine-like ropes had covered the windows to the outside, barely letting the light from the outside in.

The windows were all barred as if what was outside was too terrible to see. Nearby in the back, in the corner of the room was a rotting desk, with a white flower that had been placed in a vase sitting on the deteriorating wooden table. The room looked so... neglected.

I don't remember this place.

Then again, should I?

"Where am I?" I asked myself again, trying to recollect my thoughts. "W-What's going on here?"

Why was I here?

I couldn't remember.

I just couldn't remember how I got here.

...

I looked down at myself. I had on a long black skirt, with a red tie wrapped around the collar of my shirt. Was I still in my Sakura Private Academy uniform? That's strange, I thought I took it off.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a door in the corner of the room. I could try to open it. I began to walk towards the door.

I placed my hand on the knob, I tried to turn the handle.

No reaction.

"It's locked?" I mumbled to myself. That didn't make a lot of sense to me.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a bang, followed by a thump. I turned around in surprise to see the locker I had woken up next to begin to shake violently.

Then, a person unexpectedly stumbled out of the locker. It was a black-haired man, with a white vest and shirt, followed by black pants, with a pin that had a Fire Emblem surrounded by water that had been attached to his vest. "Ugh.." He groaned, dusting himself off as he got up from the floor. He looked around the room for a good few seconds, before noticing me.

We stared at each other for a long time, before the man spoke.

"Er... who... are you?" He asked me, as he stared directly at me with a confused look on his face.

"I'm... Moriko Yanagisawa." I replied.

"A-Ah, so that means you're the sister of that Makoto Yanagisawa guy, aren't you?" The man asked me. I nodded. "To think, I'd meet the sister of the famous journalist. What are the odds, huh? Anyways, let me introduce myself. My name is **Naoki Cavin** , from Nankai Academy. Nice to meet you." He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up brighter than the sun itself.

He looked at the pin on my chest. "Ah, you're enrolled in Cherry Blossom Private Academy, huh?" Naoki observed, before staring back at my face. "It's very expensive to attend there, you know."

"It's the same for South Sea Academy, is it not?" I asked with a low voice and an uncertain tone.

"Yeah, but the price is only a little bit cheaper, for a school that's on a cruise." He asserted, crossing his arms,

"...Anyway, do you have any sort of clue to where we might be, or why we're here?" The male had asked me. I shook my head. "I see. That's a disappointment."

Just then...

I remembered something.

I was taken from my home. Kidnapped, to say the least.

 _I was busy writing in my journal, like always, practicing different forms of calligraphy. Multiple papers were strewn across my floor, as I struggled to create a decent enough story that would capture the hearts of the audience. Coincidentally, I decided to look out the window nearby my desk, as rain was beating down on the window. A black van parked itself by my house, as about three men step out the back door,_

 _I paid no mind to it._

 _But I wish I had..._

 _Loud bangs began to occur from my front door. But, even though I'm sixteen and still live with my parents, I'm not allowed to answer the door under any circumstances if I didn't see their car in the driveway. So, I decided to call my mom for help._

No response.

 _Suddenly, a loud thump occurred, followed by the sound of footsteps. They ran up the stairs, as the footsteps got increasingly louder._

 _By the time I got up from my desk, the men were probably already at the front doorway._

 _I screamed out for help, for someone to save me._

 _But nobody came._

 _They dragged me outside my house. Although this was a busy street with loads of people, nobody would help me, no matter how much I kicked and screamed. They pretended to think that this was normal and went on with their day. After they threw me into the black van, I lost consciousness when my head hit the floor of the vehicle._

"That's it..!" I yelled. Naoki turned to look at me. "What is it?" He asked, wanting clarification on what I meant.

"I mean, I was taken from my home. Some men came to my house and threw me into a black van, then I lost consciousness." I explained to the black-haired man.

"Now that I think of it, I can recall having an incident similar to your story," Naoki told me. "I was in my dormitory on the ship one day and was taken from my dormitory. Then, they threw me in a black life raft and lost consciousness as well. But then again, that begs the question, why were we chosen specifically?"

Suddenly,

*click*

A faint sound was heard. "Huh? What was that?" I asked, looking around to try and find the source. "I'd assume that it came from that door." He mumbled, walking towards the wooden door. The man turned the handle, and it slowly creaked open.

"But... it was just locked." I mumbled, loud enough for Naoki to hear me.

"That doesn't matter." He told me with a rather rough voice. "If the door is unlocked, then it's the least of our problems." He walked outside the room.

The door swiftly closed behind him.

...

He wasn't wrong.

I mean, I'd had to look around this place to get a sense of where I'm at, and due to the classroom, it'd be easy to assume I'm in a school. But where was the school?

Suddenly, I could hear Naoki yelled something along the lines of "What the hell...!" that was muffled through the closed door. "Eh?" I opened the door and walked out the classroom, only to be taken back by an outlandish sight...

In front of me, was a large piece of machinery that was glowing a bright red would suddenly roar, nearly knocking be off my feet.

"What the..." I muttered, looking up at the robot trying to get a sense of what was going on.

"Kyahahahahahahaha!" The machine cackled, giving off a sinister atmosphere.

"What the hell is this..?" I muttered, my eyes widening at the outlandish sight. "Hey, N-Naoki!" I stuttered, as he turned to face me. "I don't intend to stand here all day! Let's go!"

...

Suddenly, I could feel my body dashing, running throughout the neglected hallways as I stepped in countless weeds and grass, as they grinder on my soles. But... I could care less, I had to get away from whatever that was. I turned around, to see Naoki right behind me, and the robot that was slowly gaining on us. I could practically hear the heavy footsteps right behind me.

The two of us came to a pink frilly staircase and ran down the stairs as fast as we could. As soon as we got down there, I realized that most of the school had been boarded up. What would've been a regular hallway in front of the stairs was turned into a barbed wire fence.

So the two of us would run the other way.

Suddenly, the ground shook underneath me, as I turned around in panic. I saw the glowing red machine jump from the staircase.

What in the hell was really going on? I thought to myself. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glowing yellow robot begin to charge at us. "Naoki!" I yelled, but he had other plans. He was already running way up ahead of me. "Down here!" He shouted back at me, his voice trailing off.

I ran into a lounge-like room, that was all dusty and ragged, and some of the couches had been slashed with sharp edged weapons. After some more running, I made a right turn, to see a long and narrow corridor that lead to a steel door. Naoki was right around the corner, stopping as soon as he saw me. "Hey, Naoki?!" I called out, panting heavily from all the running away I had done. "Down there!" I pointed to the dimly light steel door.

"I can see that, you know!" He barked before he started dashing down the narrow hallway.

I could hear heavy footsteps behind me, getting increasingly louder by the second.

And that was when I realized that we ran into a dead end if the door was locked. But that is a risk I'm willing to take. I began to run down the hallway, the footsteps behind me getting dangerously loud, like whatever that was was right behind me.

As soon as the two of us got to the end of the hallway, we would burst through the door...

...and step into an unfamiliar zone, filled with unfamiliar faces.

"...Two others, now?" A white haired female suddenly spoke up. The door behind us would slowly creak shut. "...Hey, you wouldn't happen to have been chased by those "things", would you?" The auburn-haired man asks the two of us.

"Yeah, we were." Naoki said, before shuffling his hand into his pocket.

"It's the same for the rest of us." A long brown haired female spoke up.

"But who are they, really?" A long blonde-haired woman in a pink uniform asked. "Do they have a motive for bringing us here?"

"You think we really know that?" A pink-haired girl grumbled, crossing her arms with a disapproving look on her face.

"They're a real pain, to be honest." An auburn-haired man scoffed, as he unzipped his gray coat.

"Anyway, what do we do now? I mean, those creatures are on the other side of that door, roaming the hallways." A tall man with long dreadlocks piped up. In the background, the auburn-haired man had tied the gray coat around his waist.

"Where are we should be the better question to ask, don't you think?" A dirty brown haired girl suggested.

"Necessarily, all that we know is that there's fifteen of us and that we're in some sort of school. But that's really it." A mauve-haired woman in an all black uniform spoke.

Thinking back to it, I remember the classroom very vividly. Those sixteens desks, and that vase with the white flower...

...that had been placed on that peculiar desk. Wasn't it tradition to place a white flower on top of a desk of the departed?

"Alright, everybody! Sit down and shut up!" An unannounced voice suddenly echoed throughout the gymnasium.

"Uhm, it's more polite if you just said 'be quiet', Monotaro." A second, more lighthearted voice would follow.

"Who's that?" The girl with the long brown hair asked with a weary tone of voice, looking around herself.

"Wait, aren't those the voices of that red and pink robots?" The mauve-haired female would say observantly.

Then, from out of nowhere, the robots I saw earlier suddenly would burst through the ceiling, and landed on the wooden planks that made up the floor.

The ground shook heavily at their sudden appearance. "What the hell!?" A man in a chef's uniform quavered. "Why are the monsters here now?!"

"Monsters?" The yellow machine questions the man's choice of words. "No, no, these are just our ultimate Mechanical Killing Machines!"

"Waaaaait. Did you just say Ultimate... Killing Machine..?" I asked.

"You heard him right!" The blue one shouted. "These are all-purpose Killing Machines, who serve the ultimate purpose of annihilating rule breaks."

"Ok... but who's controlling those things?" The man with the long dreadlocks asked with a shaky voice.

"That doesn't matter!" The blue robot shouted abruptly. "All that matters is that they're still in proper working order! It's been forever since we've used these!"

"Then, perhaps we should get off?" The pink robot suggested. "We tested it, and it's fine."

"I guess that's fine." The red one said. "Let's leave before it's too late."

"Can someone just explain this whole thing to me?" I heard someone mutter beside me. "This makes no sense."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake heavily, as the robots began to shake violently."H-Hey! What's going on?!" The dirty brown-haired man hollered, before being knocked off his feet.

Then, from the center of the robots, leaped out five mysterious looking animals.

One was yellow, one was blue, another green, a pink one, and a red one.

Nobody had the words to speak, as we all stared down in confusion.

"..."

"Well then?" The red one spoke up. "Is that better for you guys, now that we're not in our EXISALs?"

"It would be fine if this didn't even make me more confused." The pink-haired girl lamented, taking a step back at the bizarre sight.

"I mean... talking and moving bears?" The long brown haired woman queried. "That's out of the ordinary for me."

"For all I want to know is, who are you guys?" The long brunette would ask with a lighthearted voice, turning towards the Bears.

"Who about YOU guys?!" The blue bear countered back.

"Aren't you all supposed to be those special kids with aspiring talents?" The yellow bear asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"Uhm... I'm just a regular high schooler, so no." The white haired girl spoke up.

"Yeah, it's the same for me." The auburn-haired man commented, crossing his arms. "I don't remember having a talent or anything."

"Perhaps that's just because you haven't recalled your first memories, meaning that you don't even remember your own talent?" The yellow one had suggested, sending us all into a spiral of confusion. We each exchanged baffled looks that were painted on our faces.

"First memories?" I questioned, perplexed. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's simple, your first memories all contain a talent that you have. But perhaps you had already forgotten about what you did for a living?"

"And once you forgot your talents, you turned into normal people." The red one said. "But this is a school for the gifted, so that's a problem, ain't it?"

"Then let's reveal to them their talents again!" The pink one suggested. "But we'll have to unseal those locked up talents."

"Eh? What do you mean unseal..?" The pink haired girl implored.

"We should get them out of those raggedy old uniforms first, and slip them into something more comfortable with their talent." The pink one recommended.

They just completely ignored her question.

"That's true." The yellow one acknowledged. "So, without further ado..."

Suddenly, several piles of clothing fell from the hole in the ceiling the robots had created, creating a small mound.

"Eh? What's this?" The blonde with the long ponytail inquired, staring down at the heap of clothing that laid on the floor.

"I think it's supposed to be our clothes, but how can we tell what belongs to who?" Naoki asked, staring down at the clothing.

"You can each find your own, as there are tags with a name on each on them." The yellow bear said, as the blonde ponytailed girl picked up an orange skirt.

"Oi, ain't it now time to start the killing game?!" The blue bear hollered. "Killing game?" The mauve haired woman inquired.

"Yeah, you were brought here for a reason: to participate in the New Killing School Life." The red bear explained. "And after we give you your memories back, we can officially start the game."

"But... what if we don't want to participate in such a game?" Naoki asked, with a grave look on his face.

"Necessarily, you don't have a choice in this matter." The yellow bear stated.

"Wait, you mean... you're forcing us to kill each other..?!" The white haired girl asked, flinching a bit.

"He said you don't have a choice, right?!" The blue bear had shouted, before letting out a maniacal laugh.

"Ah, well, we've wasted enough time already." The read bear commented. "So, let this Remembering Light guide your path..."

The voice faded out as a bright white wrapped itself around my body, before all my surroundings was just a beaming white. Suddenly, the world around me collapsed, as I slowly opened my eyes.

...

 **STUDENTS : 15**


	2. Part 1-1 : Absurd Dreams : School Life

_..._

 _There was a blinding light in front of me, getting bigger by the second._

 _I decided to approach it, as my footsteps echoed throughout the desolate room._

 _..._

Suddenly, the world around me collapsed, as I could feel my eyes slowly opening, with my limbs feeling heavy and my head felt like it was splitting into two.

Looking around, I realized that I had woken up in a monochromatic-like bedroom. I looked down, realizing that I had woken up on a red bed.

I got up from the bed I had arisen on and looked around the room. "It's a regular bedroom, nothing off about it," I muttered to myself. "But... where am I?"

Wait a moment...

That's right!

 _I had woken up in a locker of a deteriorating classroom, with another man. We were in some sort of school, I could easily tell, and was trapped with 13 others that we found in a seemingly looking gymnasium._

 _But with that said..._

 _ **Where is everyone else?**_

 _There's only one way to find out._

 _I had to go out._

I approached the monochromatic door, before pushing it open. I ran out of the room, possibly to try and find the others that had been trapped in this place, hoping that they had some sort of explanation for where we were being contained.

But what happened...

"Oof..!"

I fell backward after running into something- no, someone.

I got up from the floor, dusting myself off. In front of me was a dirty-brown haired man laid flat on the floor in front of me, a relatively smaller person, I might add.

"Hey, sir... are you alright?"

Flashing an embarrassed smile, he slowly lifted up from the floor. "Nah, it's fine."

"Uh, right... anyway, who are you?" I asked the man, as he crossed his arms.

"Oh, it's Eiji Kobayashi. I'm known as the Super High-School Level Woodcarver. I hope to get to know you well." The boy introduced himself.

"So, who are you then?" Eiji would question.

"My name is Moriko Yanagisawa, the Super High-School Level Journalist. Nice to meet you as well." I said.

"Ah, anyway, I should be going now, there's more to this place than the dormitories." The man said, before turning around. "I'll see you later." He walked towards the glass door, and into the outside.

I should also do that.

I mean, explore more than just this place.

I pushed the glass door open and ran outside, with a cold gush of air rushed up my spine, as I could feel the sunlight beaming from above, as I looked up, only to be taken back by a peculiar sight.

"A... dome?" I looked up at the glass sphere above me, with the silhouette of the city's skyscrapers behind it.

The feelings were absolutely overwhelming. I mean, this place which I think is a school was surrounded by a dome, and I'm not even sure if we can leave just yet.

This is so bizarre. But surely, perhaps the others know what's up?

Where are they, even? This place seems huge anyway.

I looked like to the right, it was a smaller path that had followed a staircase, but I could see two people down the left road, one was a brown haired girl with a monochromatic dress, and the other was a noticeably shorter girl with pink hair and a vest sweater vest. They stood in front of a brick building, as metallic bars covered the windows, with vines surrounding the door.

I began to walk towards the two.

"Um, excuse me.." I spoke up, as the two faced towards me.

"Ah, another person!" The pink haired girl beam ecstatically, his eyes lighting eye. "It looks like we're not alone after all."

"I'm not relatively sure where you reached the conclusion that it was only us two." The long brunette said, with a concerned expression on her face.

"Right, right. Anyway, do you know where we are..?"

"I'm as clueless as you." The pink girl said, with a concerned expression on her face, as she placed her finger on her chin as if she was in deep thought. "But, it would appear that we're in a school."

"That's true, but I only know the name of the school." The brunette stated blatantly. "Eh, you do?!" I asked, a bit flabbergasted.

"Yes, actually. It appears that we've been confined in the spaces of the Prison School for the Gifted."

"Erm, how can you be so sure?" The pink haired girl questioned the woman's explanation. "Where's your evidence that we are in a... Prison School?"

"I was informed by the... "toys" of our location." She retorted with such a calm manner.

Hold on a second, toys?

I don't remember anything about toys.

"Anyway, if we're in a Prison School, then we should learn about each other for the meantime," I said, trying to lighten the mood just a little. "I mean... it appears that if we're going to be here for a while, we should get to learn each other's names first, right?"

"Ah, yes, let me introduce myself. My name is Aiko Akiyama, and I go by as the title of Super High-School Level Maid. It's a pleasure to meet you." The long brunette female would say lightheartedly.

"...And I'm T-Tsukiko Hana. Super High-School Level Song Writer." The girl introduced herself.

"And whom might you be?" The woman asked.

"My name is Moriko Yanagisawa, Super High-School Level Journalist..."

"Mhm, and now that we've introduced ourselves, shouldn't we investigate the school?" Tsukiko suggested, with a sort of authoritative tone. "It wouldn't make much sense to just stand outside and linger in one spot."

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea!" I exclaimed. "...hey, have you guys been inside the school..?" I asked the two.

"Yeah, we both woke up in the entrance hall, but... is there a reason for you asking, though?" Tsukiko questioned.

"I thought that it'd be a good idea for you guys to search outside, while I searched the inside."

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with that!" Tsukiko shouted. "I'll go check the central place!" She turned around, before running off.

"Ah, wait..." I could hear Aiko mumble from under her breath.

"Then I shall accompany Tsukiko.." Aiko declared, before running off to catch up with the pink haired girl. I waved for a few seconds, before turning around to my main interest, the school's building.

It was at such a deteriorating state, I couldn't even imagine what it looked like before all this... happened.

Regardless, I approached the gigantic door. I pushed open the brown door as it slowly creaked open, before stepping into a room. Vines grew over the bars, and sunlight radiating through the sunroof above. Was this the entrance hall they were talking about?

I saw a man standing there in the entrance, looking up at the ceiling. As soon as he heard the sound, his head quickly shifted towards me, as the door slammed shut behind me.

We stared at each other for around a good three seconds, before he finally spoke.

"Hey." He said coldly, raising his hand to try and wave, before placing it down awkwardly. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it.

"...Hello." I responded. "I'm... Moriko Yanagisawa, the Super High-School Level Journalist, nice to meet you."

...

 **Silence**.

 _Did I do something wrong?_ I thought to myself.

"So... who are you?" I asked the man.

"...I'm Takeshi Hamamoto, the Super High-School Level Cage Fighter. Nice to meet you too, but... it's a shame, that we're forced to be under such circumstances..." He trailed off before sighing.

"Eh? Circumstances?" I asked, a bit confused. "Can you explain what you mean..?"

"Don't you remember what the Monokumas said about that New Killing School Life?" Takeshi inquired, his expression quickly turning into one of dolefulness.

"I don't think some high schoolers be obliged to kill each other, though." I asserted, giving a slight smile as if I actually meant what I said. I didn't even remember what he was talking about, but just went along with it as if I did. "We barely know each other, anyway."

"Yeah, you're probably right. There's no way we'd just get up and kill..." He said, sounding uncertain. "We never would kill."

"Mhm, and- wait... what did you mean by Monokumas?" I asked him, as he gave me a concerned look.

"Don't you remember the incident at the gym?" He inquired. I shook my head. "I see... let me refresh your memory then."

[•] ... [•]

[•] Takeshi went over the current events in detail, even with his arrival... [•]

[•] ... [•]

"...And you're sure about that, right?" I asked, a bit uncertain by Takeshi's outlandish explanation. "I mean, talking toys that can control robot suits forcing us to participate in a killing game can seem... a bit bizarre to the regular person."

"No doubt. I don't think they were playing around, either." He replied to my question, with a brooding look on his face.

The mood suddenly felt... dreary. Forced to participate in a killing game? I don't know whether to take it seriously or as a joke or if I'm being delusional. Wait, how did he even remember that if I didn't? My memory is pretty good, too.

Footsteps echoed across the school. The two of us turned around, to see a white haired girl with thick rimmed black glasses, in which you couldn't see through the lenses.

"Hey, is that-"

The girl finally reached the entrance hall, and stopped, staring at the two of us.

"Ey, Cho, how's it going?" He asked lightheartedly, with a smirk. "You.. are aware that we just met around ten minutes ago, right?" The white haired girl asked coldly.

"Yeah, yeah... oh well." Takeshi sighed, crossing his arms.

"Anyway, Moriko... you know Cho, right?" The man asked me.

I shook my head.

"Well then, I'll mainly keep it short... since I have to go back to my room." The white haired girl said bluntly. "I'm Cho Katako... the Super High-School Level Necromancer."

"I'm Moriko Yanagisawa, Super High-School Level Journalist," I replied with a slight smile, although that quickly faded away as the room became silent. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, then." Cho said calmly, before turning her attention to the door. She remained silent after that but just approached it pushing open the door.

She walked out the door, and into the outside realm.

"She's a... inscrutable girl," Takeshi commented. "But yeah, I should be leaving too. I heard that my lab was opened."

"Lab?" I questioned. "What do you mean by "lab"?"

"I forgot to tell you, there are Laboratories around the school that are supposed to relate to our talents." He told me. "Mine's nearby the dormitories, so I'll go check it out."

"Yeah, I'll see you later..." I said to him, as he opened the door. "Yeah, you too. " While waving he walked out the door before it closed behind him.

Now that he's gone, I should look around some more.

I turned around, before walking down a noticeably short hallway. Vines have entangled themselves around the arches and pillars, with grass germinating through the cracks of the floor.

There was a door, with a similar appearance to the classroom.

I approached it, before turning the knob.

*click.*

"It's locked," I mumbled to myself, backing away from the door. Suddenly,

*BANG*

The door suddenly jolted back, before going back into place.

Huh?

Was someone behind the door?

"Come on!" A muffled cry came from behind the door. Someone really was in there, but it's not like I could open it. "Damn, looks like we're stuck in here."

...

I resumed my exploration.

After some walking, I approached a staircase. If this is the first floor, then this staircase might be the basement. I took a deep breath, before hesitantly creeping down the staircase, stepping into a darkened corridor.

"Damn, it's really dark down here..." I said to myself, as my voice echoed throughout the darkened hallway. Suddenly, orange lights lit up from the bottom of the arches, illuminating the hallway a little bit. At least I could see a bit better, my eyes aren't all that great in the dark.

I walked around the very small hallway, before finding a modern-like classroom door. You know, the one with two slides you can see through? I slid the door, before stepping into another deteriorating room. With all the bookshelves and books scattered around the room, I would assume it's a library.

"...A cat imagined as being enclosed in a box with a radioactive source and a poison that will be released when the source unpredictably emits radiation." A voice emerged from the silence. "The cat being considered that, according to quantum mechanics, to be simultaneously both dead and alive until the box is opened and the cat observed..."

The voice trailed off, before the sound of a book being closed echoed throughout the room. I looked around, to see a man huddled in the corner of the room, kneeling in front of a bookcase.

"Hey..." I paused, as he shifted his head towards my direction, before getting up from the floor. It was an auburn haired man with beige pants and a zipped up gray coat. "What're you reading?"

"Oh, it's a book about quantum physics and theories." He replied casually, shuffling his hand into his pocket. "Do you want to read it?"

"No, I'm fine." I kindly refused, as he turned around to place the book back into place.

We both exchanged glances, as the room became engulfed in silence.

"You're expecting me to introduce myself, no?" He asked me like he could read my mind. I nodded, as he crossed his arms with a smirk on his face.

"Well then... my name is Ryoto Unimako, the Super High-School Level Author!" He beamed with a bright smile on his face. "Nice to meet you... er... what's your name?"

"I'm Moriko Yanagisawa, the Super High-School Level Journalist." I replied.

"Oh, ok. Moriko, you should take this then, since I won't be needing it." Ryoto paused, reaching into his pocket before bringing out a golden key with a plastic tag attached to the hole at the top. "What's this?" I asked the man, extending my hand.

"It's a classroom key that I found in the book." He explained, dropping it into the palm of my hand. "It goes to that locked door upstairs, but I'm going to be down here for a while, so I wouldn't be unlocking it."

"Okay, I'll go unlock it right now." I said, turning around to the opened door.

"Alright, I'll see you later." He replied as I walked out of the room. The lights were beaming even brighter than before I stepped into the library, nearly lighting the entire hallway.

Regardless, I made my way back to the disorienting staircase, running up the stairs.

The banging was louder than before, and the muffled voices became clear since they were screaming. "Hey! This isn't funny! Open the damn door!" A masculine voice shouted through the locked door, as the knob kept trying to rotate, numerous clicks emitting from it.

Frantically, I approached the door, before shifting the key into the hole. It fit perfectly. I quickly twisted the key, and a louder clicking sound was heard, as a man busted through the door, before stumbling on his feet. He had a box haircut with aviator shades, as well as a dark gray jacket that matched his pants.

There with a darker man nearby the window with a black jacket and black sweatpants, as he would only state out the door.

"Oi, redhead, you opened the door, right?" He asked with a croaky voice. I unconsciously gulped, before nodded. "Guess I'll thank ya' for that, then."

"Tch, thank god." The darker man said as he stepped out the room. "There's no way I'd last in that room any longer."

"Un, it's nothing really." I said.

A memory rushed through my brain.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a door in the corner of the room. I could try to open it. I began to walk towards the door.

I placed my hand on the knob, I tried to turn the handle.

No reaction.

"It's locked?" I mumbled to myself. That didn't make a lot of sense to me.

If I remembered correctly, when waking up in the other classroom upstairs, the unlocked suddenly. Did someone unlock it for me?

"Right, anyway, what's your name..?" I asked.

"... Alright, since you asked, and since you helped me out of a tight spot, then I'll give it to you. I'm Guestian Price, the Super High-School Level Hacker." The dark man with the black jacket and pants said calmly, tugging onto the collar like he was in discomfort.

"And I'm Bansai Hidiyoshi, Ultimate Daredevil!" The man with the box haircut shouted, pumping his left fist into the air.

"Ultimate...?" I questioned. "Don't you mean Super High-School Level..?"

"Tch, same thing, girl."

"Anyway, I'm Moriko Yanagisawa, Super High-School Level Journalist." I said casually, placing a hand on the center of my breast. After repeating it for a while, it seemed like my introductions have somewhat lost their meaning.

"Hey, wenn dies eine Schule ist, dann sollten es eine Cafeteria geben, recht?" Guestian asked in a somewhat unrecognizable accent. I only knew German with a clearer voice, but could still understand what he was trying to say.

"Dude... like, speak English goddamnit." Bansai's voice hardened as he spoke. He crossed his arms with a very annoyed look on his face.

"He asked if there's a cafeteria since this place is a school." I said nonchalantly. "There's always one on the first floor, and I haven't looked in the other part of the school, so I dunno."

"Well, I'll go see for myself then." Guestian said, taking his hand out of his pocket. "Are you guys coming?"

"I'll come." I volunteered. "This'll be a good time to get to see the other side of the school."

"Alright, how about you, Bansai?" He asked, with a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

"Nah, not worth my time. However, I saw some people outside through the window, so I'm gonna check that out." Bansai replied.

"Alright then, come on Moriko, let's go."

[•] ... [•]

[•] Me and Guestian traversed through the other side of the school... [•]

[•] ... [•]

"There we go!" Guestian exclaimed, pointing to a sign that was hung above a wooden door. CAFETERIA. Guestian pushed open the door, as we waltzed into an unfamiliar room. We had entered what appeared to be some sort of cafeteria, with vines that entwined themselves on the walls and ceiling.

"And you're really sure about that, Eren?" A man in a chef hat and apron asked the mauve-haired woman in front of him. Seems like we just walked in on a conversation. "Of course I'm certain, Hirono." The supposedly named Eren replied.

He'd sigh. "Not sure combatting with a detective would do me any good, so I'll leave it at that."

"I'd prefer being called a Private Investigator, it suits me better." Eren said.

"Right, right." The man gave a quiet nervous chuckle. "Anyway-"

"Wait, are you like, Eren Tanabe, the Super High-School Level Private Investigator?" Guestian blurted, causing the two to look towards our direction.

"Yes, that's my name." She confirmed.

"There was a book about famous detectives in the classroom. It mentioned you-"

"If I may," The man with the chef's apron butted into the conversation. "let me introduce myself to you. It'll help us get to know each other."

"Sure, why not?" I said.

"My name is Hiromo Taketomo, the Super High-School Level Confectioner." The man introduced himself. "So how about you guys?"

I opened my mouth, about to speak, before Guestian spoke. "Guestian Price. Hacker." He crowed. I tried to speak again, but suddenly, the door would burst open, as Ryoto stepped in, and a blonde-haired girl with her hair tied in a ponytail behind him.

"Hey, Moriko..." He paused, taking out a small notebook. There was an expression of confusion on his face.

He moved towards the cafeteria table anxiously.

"Eh? Is something the matter?" I asked him, as he gave me a blank stare.

"Look at this." Ryoto paused, flipping through the book. He stopped and then pointed to the middle of the page. There were 16 students, each with a differently colored name. "It is a student roster, but look at this one," he said, moving his finger towards a student who's portrait was in the middle. However, there was a large red X slashed across his face, with his eyes having outlandishly drawn blood seeping down from them.

"...Hirosuke Kamamura?" I said, staring at the student's picture.

"There are more pages like this, with only one person having a large **X** across their face..." He paused, handing me the book. I flipped through the pages, skimming through the obscure pages until I got to the back of the book.

There was a list, each with a number that connected to a name. However, two names stood out to me.

G9: Tomoko Amano

G10: ?

"But that begs the question... why, though?" He wondered, stroking his chin.

"You ask it like anyway else here knows," the braided girl snarled. "We're as clueless as you, obviously."

"Anyway, what are you trying to ask us with this information?" Eren asked him.

"Not asking; but implying. This means that there were other people here possibly." He said, placing his hand on his forehead, covering one of his eyes in the process.

"But how are we sure that this book isn't fake, though?" Hiromo asked, pushing his eyebrows together to form a worried expression.

Ryoto sighed. "This is definitely strange..." He said, closing the book. "Alright, I'll go ask Eiji about this, he's in the warehouse room anyway."

"Wait, there's a warehouse?" I inquired, unaware of this information. He nodded.

"Mhm, it's right in front of the cafeteria," Ryoto admitted. "I shall be off now."he

"Yeah, see ya'.." I said as he walked out the room, but the other girl didn't. I waited a few seconds, as the room had grown silent.

I stepped out of the room, and in front of me was a rusty blue double door, with black ballistic windows. There was no knob or handle, however. As soon as I placed my hand on the door, the two doors retracted to the sides.

"Why, yeah... This'll do." A girl in a puffy pink dress said as she retrieved her arm from the red box near the middle shelf. She pulled out a brown paint tube, along with a wooden palette. "But where will you do it?" A familiar child-like voice emerged.

Eiji stepped out from behind a stack of cardboard boxes. "I mean, there aren't many places to paint."

"I'll do it where-ever I can." The girl said. "But most likely once my lab opens up. I'm only getting materials now so I don't have to get them later. I mean, my room has storage for this size."

"No, wait... I'm definitely forgetting something for this..." She commented, before running towards the back of the room, behind some crates.

The doors behind me slowly groaned shut, as Eiji looked my way.

"Oh, hey Moriko!" He hollered from across the rooms, running my way. "Hey... did Ryoto show you the list yet?" He asked me.

"Yeah, he showed us." I replied to his question, as his face turned into one of worry. "I jut can't wrap my head around it, but I have a theory about it."

"Well, out with it, then!" I commanded, causing him to jump back a bit.

"Y-Yeah, right... anyway, I think those "G's" or whatever could refer to Game." He explained. "Oh yeah, do you think you know or have heard any names on the list?"

"Well..." I paused, bringing the image back into my mind.

Thinking back to it, the name of the recent number sounded familiar...

Tomoko Amano...

The name echoed in my thoughts.

"Tomoko Amano is a name I've heard before." I said, causing his eyes to light up with determination. "Then tell me! Don't leave me in the dark!"

"Alright-" a loud and sudden bang echoed throughout the room, a few paint cans falling from the shelf way in the back.

"Haibu, are you alright...?" Eiji asked, only to be shot back with silence.

...

I dashed towards the source of the noise.

There were numerous paint cans that had been knocked on the floor, spewing red, purple, and blue paint across the floor. Then there was the girl in the dress, who had unexpectedly had her dress caught on a sharp edge of a broken piece of the shelf.

She looked down on us, before speaking in a rather angry voice. "A little help here?" Her face was one of disapproval while being masked by a light shade of red.

[•] ... [•]

[•] Me and Eiji helped the girl get unstuck, although it wasn't an easy nor clean process. [•]

[•] ... [•]

"Right, thanks, I guess..." She murmured, the red quickly fading away as she scratched her head. "But that confuses me, how would I get stuck in such a position?"

"Don't ask us," Eiji said drearily. "You're the one who got into it."

"Yeah, let me just say it again, thanks, whoever you guys are."

"Oh, my name's Moriko Yanagisawa, the Super High-School Level Journalist." I informed the girl.

"Eiji Kobayashi, Super High-School Level Woodcarver."

"My names Haibu Miura! The Super High-School Level Watercolor Artist!" The girl would exclaim. "And hey, Ashirami, you don't have to stay in the darkness, ya' know. Come on out and say hi."

There was also a girl beside her, it was a blonde girl who had wrapped both of her hands around a small gothic Lolita doll, as its red beady eyes stared into my soul. "Let me introduce myself, then. My name is Ashirami Tokiko, the Super High-School Level Toy Maker."

She stuck out her hand. I already knew what she was trying to do, so I extended mine until both of ours met. Her grip tightened for a while, before releasing her hand.

 *** DING DONG - BING BONG ***

An ominous bell emitted from the stereos that had been latched onto the monitor. "Eh? Didn't that come from the monitor...?" Haibu questioned, pointing to the monitor that would hang in the corner. The television flashed to life, revealing five differently colored bears sitting on a brown polka-dotted couch.


	3. Part 1-2 : All is Vanity : School Life

"Hey, aren't those..." Eiji trailed off, staring at the screen.

"Alright! Sorry to keep you waiting!" The pink bear apologized for... whatever reason.

"Now that we've finally gotten the preparations done, would you guys meet in the gym?" The red bear said.

"Won't this be an interesting entrance ceremony...?" The yellow one remarked before the monitor cut off into a pitch black screen, in which our confused faces reflected off of.

"We... shouldn't keep them waiting," Eiji commented, as a nervous sweat dripped down the side of his face.

"Yeah," I replied, not knowing what else to say.

Haibu had already been on the floor while we were a few feet in the air from standing on the boxes.

"C'mon guys!" She hollered. "Ya' don't wanna be late, right?" She turned around, and in a few seconds, was already out the door.

I turned around, Ashirami nowhere in sight. Perhaps she had somehow vanished during the announcement. I'll never know?

I cautiously climbed down the tower of boxes, before landing on the mastic floor, Eiji close behind.

Soon, I... we departed from the storage room.

I already knew where the gym was, or at least had to assume it was in the north hallway, since that's the only place I haven't looked around at.

After a few minutes walking around, we came by a door with a checkered texture, with red metallic handles.

Curious, I tried to twist the handle, only to be met with a click. The door did not even move in the slightest.

"It's locked." I said, with Eiji right behind me.

"There isn't even a keyhole to put a key in if we ever found one," Eiji said, before sighing. "We should look around after we head to the gym, though."

The lights that had shone through the cracks of the windows that had been covered by red vines had suddenly changed to a bright orange-yellow kind of color, probably suggesting that it was sometime around evening.

I sighed, before resuming my exploration for the gymnasium.

In a short matter of time, I was already at the monochromatic door, as I pushed the doors open.

Aiko was already the first there, with Tsukiko and Yuru right beside her.

"Ah, you're both here." Aiko said. "Now we just have to wait for the others."

"The others...?" I asked a bit puzzled. "The announcement was about five minutes ago, so it is kind of strange some of them wouldn't be here."

"I do not blame them, though. Some are in the far regions of the school, so it would take them a while to arrive."

"Ok, so let's just wait a bit." Eiji said. "Like Aiko said, we can't blame them for where they are when the announcements went off, so it would make sense for some people to take some time to get here."

I sighed, placing a clenched hand on my hip. "If you say so,"

Time crept by slowly, as people slowly began to pile up at the gymnasium. As the other 9 were already here, I was getting impatient by the last person to come to the gymnasium.

The doors would finally burst open, as Haibu stepped inside the room. "Sorry I am late, I got caught up in some business..." She tried to apologize, letting out a slight chuckle as she looked around the room.

"That's strange, for someone who was so eager to go to the gym, she's the last one to come." I muttered.

"Now is not the time to be doing this, Moriko." Takeshi spoke up as if he was trying to act like the voice of reason.

"Anyway, where the hell are those little fuckers?" Bansai asked. "I swear to god if they keep wasting my time I-"

"Wait, Bansai, be quiet," Eren commanded, staring up at the ceiling.

"Why should I?" He asked her, obviously confused.

"Don't you hear that too?" She questioned, pointing to the ceiling. The room fell silent, as everyone tried to listen closely to the sound. There was an ominous noise that echoed throughout the gymnasium, like the sound of someone crawling through a vent.

"Yep... it's coming from above." Eren noticed, looking up at the decaying ceiling. There was an enormous hole that hadn't been fixed yet.

We looked up from the hole in the ceiling...

...and down came crashing five familiar robots, each differently colored.

"T-They're here again...?!" Yuru stuttered, her eyes widening as she took a few steps back. I noticed that her voice cracked a bit when she spoke.

"No shit, they're the ones that called us here in the first place." Guestian murmured.

Bansai approached the blue mechanical robot, scanning every little detail visible to the naked eye.

"Bansai, you shouldn't be up close to those things." Aiko warned him. "You know how dangerous those things are. Don't you remember last time?"

"Not in the slightest." He let out a slight chuckle midway through his sentence.

I surely didn't.

"Boy, I suggest ya' back up now, if you don't want to lose your life." The robot spoke. "These top-notched killing machines are meant to exterminate anybody there and then."

Bansai would grit his teeth, taking a step back. "Tsch, as if. If you were gonna kill us, you wouldn't hesitate."

"So... why don't you get out of that get-up? You ain't intimidating anybody here." Guestian stated before crossing his arms.

"Yeah, I agree. There's no point of being in that suit of armor." Hiromo concurred.

The front shield of the robots suddenly began retracted, as five familiar looking teddy bears jumped out of them, before landing on the stage before us.

"Is that better?" The red one asked.

"Indefinitely." Eren spoke up.

"Anyway, they've gathered here already. Can I just say it already?" The blue one said impatiently. "I've waited long enough!"

"Go ahead, tell them." The yellow one told him.

"Are you gonna tell us where exactly this school is?" Tsukiko guessed. "Or perhaps, start by why we're here."

"If you wanna know why you're here, then let me speak, goddammit! You guys are trapped here to participate... in a killing game!"

We could only just stand there in shock as if the words froze our vocal chords. I could feel a cold sweat trickle down my face as the words echoed throughout my head. Killing game...? Was what Takeshi said back then really true...?

"Ah, so they're just jumping into it, huh?" Cho remarked, brushing a piece of hair from her shoulder.

"Hold on, what do you mean a killing game?" Ashirami asked the robot.

"Isn't it quite obvious?" The yellow one's metallic voice asked. "You're being forced to kill each other."

We stayed silent, exchanging either glances of worry or confusion. Not one of us seemed to want to accept what was just proposed to us, but if we were trapped in this school, then we might have to.

"Alright, alright, is everyone ready...?" Suddenly an unannounced shrill voice filled the room.

Where did the voice come from?

"I-It came from the stage!" Yuru called out, pointing towards the elevated staged.

Then...

...the room went dark.

I could hear at least a few voices emerge from the blackness.

"H-Hey, who turned off the lights...?" Eiji asked.

"Such a worst case scenario has this turned out to be." Ryoto commented.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" Takeshi asked.

"I'm just dandy. Pretty sure we all are." Bansai scoffed.

"I mean, as long as they turn back on soon, we are." Haibu said.

Suddenly, five spotlights began to shine on the pedestal. A black and white... rather, a monochromatic bear jumped from behind the podium, before landing on the stage. The lights soon thankfully returned.

"Hello to the students of the Prison School for the Gifted. I am now and forever on your new headmaster, Monokuma. Nice to meet you all!"

We only stood there, only either exchanging nervous glances or confused stares.

"Er... did the teddy bear just talk...?" Yuru would murmur.

"You... do remember that those five other ones were the same thing, right?" Aiko would ask her. "Of course I do," Yuru responded to her question. "It's just that this one is a bit different than them."

"Daddy!" The robots all cried, except for the silent green one.

"Father! You finally arrived!" The red one chortled.

Eh? Father?

The bear eyed us down. "Isn't this an interesting choice of characters...?" The supposedly Monokuma commented. "I wonder how the events will turn out."

"Anyway, can you tell us why we're actually here?" Guestian questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, it's obvious we're not here to kill each other-"

"Nope! They weren't lying when they told you. You bastards are here to participate in a killing game, so get used to it."

A sense of dread soon set in.

"Besides... unless nobody decides to kill, you're here to the end of your days."

"So... we're here forever?" Eiji asked the monochromatic bear. "I wouldn't lie about what I said! I'd gain nothing from that."

"Is... there a way to escape?" Naoki questioned the bear. "I mean, I heard you about how we're here forever, but..." He trailed off, probably in thought about what he would say next.

"Yeah, you could literally just kill each other. Like I said." Monokuma snarled. "However, I don't expect you to just get up and kill, so I'll be preparing a little something later."

"Just curious, is there a specific way we're supposed to kill?" Ashirami asked the monochromatic bear. He shook his head.

"Nope! The methods of elimination are endless. Beating, stabbing, clubbing, beheading, burning, suffocating, strangling, slaughtering, voodoo cursing, who cares for what kind of trick you use! Only if you murder a person you'll be granted temporary freedom!" Monokuma would explain to us. Could this talk just end already, and for me to wake up from some bad nightmare?

"Hold on... I paused, placing a finger on my chin. "What do you mean prepare something?"

"It's a surprise!" He jested, before letting out a demonic laugh. "Anyway, ya' see that big cage surrounding this school? You can't necessarily escape with me and the EXISALs on watch."

"So we have to kill if we don't want to die or something?" Ashirami would question again. "Exactly."

"What the hell, man." Bansai muttered, placing a hand in his forehead, covering one of the sides of his glasses. "This is some kill or be killed shit. I ain't having any of that."

"Anyway, there's a catch once you kill; all living students will be forced to partake in Class Trials!"

Class Trial?

"What do you mean?" I asked for the bear's clarification.

The monitor's screen lit up, revealing an image, of six students, all lined up in two rows towards Monokuma in his throne.

"Let's keep this short. For every school trial, there shall be a blackened. During school trials, the blackened has to convince everyone they're not the killer in order to live. If the blackened is still found out, only they'll receive the punishment. If everyone else gets it wrong, however..." Monokuma paused, before leaning into the microphone.

"...then everyone but the blackened gets punished."

"And what do we get as a reward for committing murder?" Cho asked Monokuma. "Or is it only just freedom?"

"It's only that you'll be able to return to the outside world. Nothing more, nothing less." The bear answered.

"Ok, but you said something about "punishment", care to elaborate?" Aiko asked the stuffed animal.

"I'll just say it, by punishment, you'll get executed." As soon as the headmaster said this, murmurs began to fill the room.

"E-Execution?!" Yuru stuttered. "Don't tell me... that I heard that correctly."

"N-No way, dude..." Bansai uttered, sounding a bit panicked. "No fucking way. This better be a damn joke. All of this shit better be, or else."

"Sure, killing another living being is wrong, but to execute them?" Tsukiko mumbled.

"Don't you get punished for murder on the outside world if you get caught? In here, the sentence is always the death penalty. Upupupupu."

I winced.

"And that concludes the entrance ceremony!" Monokuma sneered, before giving off a dull laugh. "Please enjoy our quiet gruesome school life! See you later!"

The bear disappeared, whilst being followed by his supposed children.

 _Then... darkness._

 _The curtains came to a close._

 _That sense of reality that we had been inhabiting had suddenly vanished, as we plunged into an unfamiliar and forgotten world, leaving us in this twisted story._

 _ **A story that's only just begun.**_


	4. Part 1-3 : Expeditions : School Life

**DAY 1 : Resentful Morning : Gymnasium**

There was a vibration in my pocket before a cheerful school bell jingle chimed from it. From everyone's pockets, but actually. Curious, I stuck my hand inside, before pulling out a small electronic device.

I looked over Eiji's shoulder, as he was already scrolling through... something. I noticed that he had a different color, however. Instead of the dark red and black one I had, his was brown and black. Probably to match our hair colors, I thought.

I flipped over the electronic device. There was a logo of the school on the back of the device, with the words MONO-PAD imprinted right beneath it.

I turned it around before the dubbed "Mono-Pad" lit up in my hands, displaying a row of folders before me.

 **( PROFILE ) [•] ( MAP ) [•] ( RULES ) [•] ( INVENTORY )**

Obviously, I'd choose the rules first. Wait a minute... Rules? Why do we need rules? I thought to myself as I began to swiftly move my hands around the interface in calculated motions like I knew what I was doing, scrolling through the different rules.

 **1\. There is no end date for the communal school life at Gifted Inmates Academy.**

 **2\. When a murder occurs, everyone must participate in a school trial.**

 **3\. If the true culprit is found during the trial, then only the guilty party will be executed.**

 **4\. If the true culprit is not found during the trial, everyone except the guilty party will be executed.**

 **5\. If the culprit succeeds in getting away with their crime, they will graduate and be permitted to leave.**

 **6\. If the innocent continue to win, the game will end when there are only two participants remaining.**

 **7\. The hours between 10 P.M. and 8 A.M. are designated as "Night Time" and the cafeteria and gym will be locked.**

 **8\. Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited.**

 **9\. Monokuma will not interfere or aid with murders.**

 **10\. Your Mono-Pad should be kept safe, and please do not break it.**

 **11\. The Body Discovery Announcement will be played when three or more students witness a body.**

 **12\. Students are free to investigate the school at will. There are no restrictions on this.**

 **13\. Anyone who breaks the school rules will be punished by the Nasty Monkeys.**

 **14\. The headmaster may add rules at any time.**

"Are you guys seeing this?" Eiji asked, sounding a little panicked.

"He... they expect us to live by these regulations?" Bansai would boom. "What are we supposed to be here, prisoners?"

"Well..." Haibu paused, causing Guestian to turn his head towards her. "Shut it." He said. "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

"Hey, guys, look at the profiles," Yuru said with such a soft voice, staring down at her Mono-Pad. "There's something strange here."

I did as told, and began to look through the various profiles of the different students.

"This one?"

At the very end of the profile listings, instead of another person, it was rather replaced by an image of a brown photo frame, with a person whose face was blurred out by whiteness. The screen was glitching immensely, too. I quickly closed out of the app, before shoving the device in my pocket.

"Guys, we're wasting precious time here," Ryoto spoke up with an orotund voice. "We could be exploring the very edges of the school. Perhaps we'll find an escape. Who knows what Monokuma meant when he said he would prepare something for us?"

"Don't you remember what they said, though?" Naoki asked the author. "There's no escape here. We can only get out by killing each other."

"Is it really a good idea believe what those bears told us?" Eiji questioned. I sensed some sort of doubt in his voice. "They can just be lying to us, for all we know."

"All this talk makes me sick..." I could hear Yuru murmur.

"Y'know what?" Hiromo paused. "I'll just go. Standing around won't do us any good. You're welcome to join me, if you like."

"Yeah, splitting up during a killing game is such a great idea." Guestian said, obviously trying to be sarcastic. "I'll go with you."

We watched the two as they left the gymnasium.

Eren sighed. "I'll go too." She spoke up with her orotund voice.

"H-Hold on!" Tsukiko said with such a soft voice, as if she were to be whispering. It was like Eren didn't hear her, as she already pushed open the door. Tsukiko soon ran after her.

"I'll go with her." Takeshi spoke up. "Make sure she doesn't get herself lost."

Soon, a lot of familiar faces began to pile out of the gymnasium, with only me, Eiji, and Aiko left.

"So... that leaves three of us, huh?" Eiji spoke up, before sighing. I gave a slight nod. "Hiromo's kinda right though. We won't get anywhere just staying here."

"So you're saying we should go?" Aiko asked.

"Exactly." Eiji replied to the maid's question. "Well then, let's get out of this place." Eiji turned to leave, soon followed suit by me and Aiko.

 **DAY 1 : Resentful Morning : Hallway**

As soon as I left the gym, I could hear an echoey sound. "Do you hear that?" I asked, looking around.

There was a sort of ringing tone.

"From there." Aiko said, before approaching the lockers that were lined in a neat row. She opened one of the lockers, and inside was a miniature device, sort of like a smartphone. The screen suddenly faded to black.

Aiko retrieved it from the locker, showing the two us it.

"I saw Guestian with that before the announcement." Eiji spoke up. "I'll take hold of it for now." Aiko gave a slight nod, before handing Eiji the phone.

"Then when we see him, we'll return it." I said, as Eiji shoved the phone in his pocket. "It's the right thing to do."

Then, I felt a vibration from my own pocket.

I took out the Mono-Pad, only to see a ribbon around the INVENTORY folder, as it kept jumping up and down. So, I opened the inventory.

Besides the Saishuu Gakuen emblem, the only thing there was the phone that was just recently added. In fact, the words "NEW" was right in the center before I pressed it, with a yellow background.

I looked up from my device, only to see the other two looking at their devices. "So you got the notification too, huh." I muttered.

"Yeah," Eiji sighed. "Anyway, shouldn't we be leaving the school right now? I've done looked around this place, so there's no need to stay here."

So the three of us made our way towards the entrance hall, stepping across various weeds and plants...

The room was noticeably darker than before, like it was around nighttime, and the doors had been opened.

"Look at that." Eiji spoke up, turned towards the monitor. I diverted my attention to it as well.

The monitor's screen was on, for some odd reason, revealing a sort of traditional Japanese styled home, but was in ruins. The wallpapers had been slashed, some floorboards were missing, and let's not forget that there was a blood splatter in the middle of the room.

"Ugh. I don't wanna be here any longer." I murmured. "Can we just go now?"

"Yes, it's been quite a long day for all of us." Aiko said, turning towards the small, brown-haired woodcarver. "Would you like to accompany us to the outside?"

"Of course!" The boy smiled. "I don't want to be alone in this place. It's best if we stick together."

So, with that decided, we finally left the school building.

 **DAY 1 : Resentful Morning : Outdoors**

We stepped out into darker territory. "Would ya look at that?" Eiji said, staring up at the dome that surrounded us. I looked up, noticing that it was nighttime. The sky, however, was blanketed with darkness.

No stars.

No anything.

"Hey, Aiko..." He paused, before turning around to the maid. "What time is it right now?" He probably asked because hers was still in her hands.

Aiko was already looking down at her Mono-Pad by the time I looked behind me. "It's... 9:50." She replied.

"Ah, we'll do more tomorrow, let's head back to our dorms and call it a night." Eiji suggested to the two of us. "It's right down there."

He pointed to the blue building nearby the staircase.

"Well, okay then..." I said, as we began to walk towards the dormitory building. The building wasn't all that far away. In fact, it felt like the distance got shorter with it.

DAY 1 : Resentful Morning : Dormitory

As soon as I stepped inside, I noticed that the inside was noticeably lighter. It was nice to feel the warmth of the light again.

"Alright, I'll be in my dorm for then." A familiar voice spoke. I looked up at the staircase, to see Naoki in front of an open door. I could see a tint of pink hair from beside his arm. "Alright, good night!" The supposedly Tsukiko would exclaim. "Goodnight." As he turned around to see us, the door behind him closed.

"Hey!" Eiji spoke, waving at the author. He looked up, to see us at the center of the building. "How are 'ya doing?"

"I'm doing just fine, actually. Thanks for asking." Naoki replied, as he approached Eiji. "How about you, dude?"

"Eh, I could be worse." The woodcarver responded to Naoki's question, before giving a lighthearted chuckle. "We just came out of the school, so nothing really happened."

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." I intervened their conversation, as they turned towards me. "I really need some sleep..."

"Alright, see you later." Aiko waved, as I began to walk up the stairs. My room was directly next to Naoki's, so I had little time finding it. And then there it was, the red and black door that was supposedly my dormitory.

I firmly grasped the door knob, turning it before the door slowly creaked open. The lights must've been automatic, because after I opened the door, the lights immediately turned on. Unconsciously, I approached the bed I had woke up on.

And...

...had fallen face first onto it.

 _Damn, am I really that tired?_

After struggling to turn my body around, I stared up at the black ceiling, I couldn't help but get flooded by my own thoughts.

Was what Monokuma said true? Why are we really trapped in a killing game? Am I just in a coma..? Why us? Why me? These type of questions began to swirl throughout my tiny brain, until I became oblivious to the fact that my vision was fading. My eyes closed as soon as I heard the school bell chime once again from the monitor that so was hanging from my ceiling.


	5. Part 1-4 : Embodiment of Despair

**DAY 2 : Resentful Morning : Dormitory**

I fluttered my eyes, slowly adjusting to the brightness of the hanging ceiling light in front of me. I slowly ascended from the bed and got up.

I looked at my surroundings. From what I could remember, it still appeared the same. But then when I turned around, I released that there was a cardboard box that had been placed on top of my drawer. I didn't even know I had a draw until today. It was slightly left ajar and the tape that supposedly was supposed to keep it together was already ripped into two, probably by something sharp.

"What's this?" I murmured as I approached it. As I opened the top of the box to see what was inside, I realized that there was a tag on the side of it. But... it had been scratched off. I looked down at the content inside. Inside the drawer was a bottle of pills lying in the bottom of it. I picked up one of the bottles, and proceeding to keep turning the bottle I picked up around, trying to spot the name for it. Then, through faded text on the front label, I saw it. _Sertraline_ HCL tablets (50 MG)*.

Wait... I remember this stuff! I used to take these back home weekly.

Although I had no use for it, it would've been a good idea to keep it around with me. Lord knows what might happen. Suddenly, a vibration came from my pocket. Probably because I forgot to put up the Mono-Pad before I passed out on the bed.

Oops.

Then, I heard a knock at the door.

"Coming!" I shouted.

I approached the black and white wooden door, for only it to be opened before my hand could even grasp the metallic knob.

Surprised, I saw Eiji's head in the crack of the door.

"E-Eiji...?" I stuttered, taken back that someone like him would come so suddenly. "What're you doing here..?"

"Well, we didn't see you at the cafeteria, so I began to worry..." Eiji said, a flush of red appearing on his face.

Was I asleep for that long? Well, I'm known to be a heavy sleeper.

He let the door widen a bit more, revealing more than his face that he hid in the crack that he held open. "But it's alright, though! You're fine, so..."

There was a short pause.

"I mean, I can take you there if you want..." He muttered as his face reddening once more. " If you do not mind, that is."

"Better safe than sorry," I said casually. "I mean, we're trapped in a killing game, so it's safer to be in a group than to be alone."

"Then, c'mon! Let's go!" Eiji said contentedly. "There's no use waiting around much longer. We shouldn't keep everyone waiting."

 **[•] ... [•]**

 **[•] The two of us frantically made our way to the cafeteria... [•]**

 **[•] ... [•]**

 **DAY 2 : Resentful Morning : Cafeteria**

When I entered the cafeteria, it seems like I already had walked into a conversation.

"Guys, this place is really HUGE, though!" Naoki fist-pumped, his face lighting up brighter than anything I've ever seen. "And my Lab finally got open, so. It's really grand and all that. I love it, and that's all that matters."

"Tsch, my Lab's been open," Takeshi commented, before shuffling his right hand into his pants pocket. "It's got everything I need, too." Takeshi had sighed, crossing his arms as an expression of worry appeared on his face. "Although I don't like my talent, it's the best I got."

"Really? What's it like to have one?" Tsukiko asked the Ultimate Cage Fighter. "My Lab is still locked, so I don't know what it's like to be in one."

"Maybe you can come with me to see, I'm going there today anyway," Takeshi replied before he winked at the girl. "I don't really mind company..."

"Anyway, we should talk about our discoveries with the school." Eren interrupted the two's conversation.

"Ah...? We were supposed to look around...?" Guestian drawled in a quiet voice. "I only went to my room, then fell asleep. Not my fault this place has nothing to offer."

"Yeah. Right, anyway, so I found something involving that book I showed you all yesterday." Naoki broke in. "Apparently, I wasn't looking closer at the book, as I realized that there were more names-"

"Hold on." Guestian stopped the man as he was mid-sentence. "Now, I didn't see any text other than the one you showed us. I took my own time and looked at it once that little shenanigan was over. So you better explain this, right now."

"Ah, yes, gladly. There was this black light that had been in my room, so I decided to look at some empty pages with it." The author had confided. "It was written in invisible ink, obviously. I woulda used lemon juice, but there aren't lemons growing around here."

"Tcsh, blödmann." Guestian murmured. "You could have brought it in here if you thought about it."

"Nope, it was tied to the desk, and I am not the person to go around violating the school," Naoki replied to the Hacker. "So I'm not a "dumbass", alright?"

"You speak German?" Haibu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I am from the coldest parts of Russia. I only guessed what he said based on context, though." Naoki retorted. He crossed his arms, before placing a hand over his face. Only his eyes were visible. "Back to topic, though. I could only remember a few names, per say... Kurenai Ogasawara, the 45th GM. Or Makoto Yanagisawa, the 49th GM."

"Hold on, you said Yanagisawa?" Hiromo implied, staring in my direction.

"Just because we have the same last name doesn't mean we're related or anything," I replied.

"Yeah. That's like saying that the Ultimate Politician Hiroki Saito is related to the Ultimate Musician Emiko Saito." Guestian barged into the conversation.

"But, Price, they ARE related," Aiko told the Hacker. "They are first cousins.,"

Guestian tilted his head and scratched his neck. "Oh... how about Amaya Seto and Hitomi Seto? They're two different people." He proposed. I shook my head in denial, ultimately not knowing these people. But someone else had to differ.

"Yeah!" Haibu piped up. "Amaya Seto is a Japanese-European. And Hitomi is a Japanese-African."

"Where the hell do you people find this information?" Bansai questioned.

"Down in the archives." Haibu retorted. She sounded... almost somewhat innocent.

"Wait, you said GM?" Aiko asked, sounding somewhat concerned. "The page we found didn't say GM. It only said G1 through G10."

"Maybe they forgot the format for this page..." I muttered.

"That's unlikely..." She trailed off, staring blankly at the door.

"They were willing to kidnap 15 Ultimate high schoolers, trap them in a killing game with no escape, but forget a detail on a faded page?" The author spoke up. "Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"Of course it does. It would be so unlikely for them to be so forgetful about one tiny detail." Cho acknowledged. Sarcasm alert.

"Who's to say Naoki remembers correctly, though?" Guestian said. "He said he could barely remember any of the names from ANY of the pages, and could only remember two from the fourth page. I wouldn't trust his memory if I was you."

"Then why don't we see for ourselves?" Eren suggested. I noticed that Ashirami gave her a somewhat bewildered look. "We could've avoided this entire conversation, you know."

"You can't leave yet!" A somewhat familiar voice echoed throughout the cafeteria.

"Oh, for fuck's sake..." Bansai groaned. His intuitions were right, as Monokuma soon appeared at the scene. "Where do you think you're going?" Monokuma asked, who I realized was Guestian. He was already pushing his hand against the door when he was called.

"We weren't called here by you, so I think we can leave." He retorted.

"Can it, smartass! You ain't leaving just yet!" Monokuma commanded even though it was obvious everybody else had other plans to do so. "Besides, I got a special announcement for you all, anyway."

I heard Ashirami sigh behind me. "What is it then?" She questioned, sounding a bit tired.

"D-Do you really want to know?!" Yuru, who had been quiet this entire time, suddenly spoke. "I certainly would," Eren said. "I don't necessarily like my time being wasted."

"Alright! Let me get to the point, then! It's a motive!" Monokuma announced as the monitor turned on. It was a broken screen with a beaming red. "Starting right now, you shall have only 2 days to murder someone else. However, if you don't..."

" **All students participating in the killing game will perish.** "

Murmurs of panic began to fill the room.

"H-He surely can't be serious, right? Right?!" Eiji stuttered, his voice cracking with each word. He looked like he was on the verge of tears as well. And his knees quivering like he was scared.

"Monokuma's probably joking!" Haibu gave a nervous chuckle. "I hope..."

Cho approached the bear without caution. "How will we supposedly die?" She asked the bear. For once, I wanted to find out as well as anybody else.

"The Monokuma Machine will create multiple clones of me. This school will be overrun with Monokumas once that happens. If you don't want to get your hearts ripped out by my clones, I suggest you start killing."

"Hell to the no!" Takeshi shouted, his face reddened with anger. "There's no way I'm going to kill another living being."

"That's fine." Monokuma shrugged. "Someone else will do it for you. But, word of advice, you should watch your back for the next two days."

"Ugh, I'm gonna be sick..." Yuru muttered, her skin was relatively a bit pale.

"And that's it for morning announcements!" Monokuma said with a shrill voice. "See you guys later! Upupupupu~!" Monokuma said, before he finally disappeared, leaving us in a daze of confusion and distrust. The only thing we really did was either look at each other worriedly or look at our feet. Needless to say, we weren't feeling too good about things here. He can't be serious! Surely can't be! I thought to myself. But sooner or later, I might find out the answer.

"Richtig, so was machen wir jetzt?" I talked with a somewhat stereotypical German accent. If someone was going to be the first to take initiative to start a conversation, it sure damn would be me. Besides, only me and Guestian is the one who knows German.

"Hey, Moriko..." Eiji paused, staring at me. "Can you speak English, please? I don't understand... whatever language you're speaking."

"Well, we can go hang out at my Lab." Guestian had suggested, with the hint of a smirk on his face. "There is something I have been wanting to show you two there, anyway."

I felt my pocket vibrate. I pulled out the Mono-Pad.

 ** _Free Time Event With : Guestian Price_**

 ** _Accept?_**

 ** _Yes_**

No

I obviously tapped the Yes button. I haven't checked out any labs in my time here, so now can be a perfect time to see what one looks like.

"Then why are we waiting?" Eiji said, pumping his fists in the air. "Let's go!"

The three of us had left the cafeteria and made our way to the outside of the school. Time didn't look like it changed one bit.

I powered on my Mono-Pad, willing to check the time. "9:02 AM".

Today was gonna be a long day, I thought to myself.

Guestian and Eiji were already running down the staircase. However, I had no need to rush, so I would rather walk.

The path to his Lab was somewhat long, but at least I get to be outside then with Naoki inside.

"Took ya long enough," Guestian said, sounding displeased. "Anyway, here we are!"

"Dude, this place is gigantic!" Eiji said, awestruck. And he was right. This place was gigantic. Like, at LEAST 20 feet high. Why does he deserve to have such a big Lab? I thought.

"I know," Guestian said, sounding boastful.

"Hey. Will I get a big lab like yours?" I asked the Hacker as he winced a bit.

The man shook his head. "Probably not. My lab is the biggest here, and it isn't all that spacious on the inside. It's kind of devious to lie for the architects of this place to deceive me like that. The nerve..."

"Oh." I sighed, disappointed.

"Anyway, we should head inside to do what we were going to do in the first place," Guestian announced.

The doors automatically retracted. "Let's go, then!" Eiji said as we stepped into the building.

 **DAY 2 : Resentful Morning : Guestian's Lab**

It was a medium-sized room stacked with IBM supercomputers EVERYWHERE. They each creating a row. Each row had at least 20, and there were 5 rows in totally, ultimately meaning that there were about 100 supercomputers.

I am honestly surprised I remembered what these were called.

"Come, come," Guestian commanded, motioning his hand as a signal for us to follow him. We did so, as he lead us into the far back row. There were about 5 supercomputers on each side of the room but were separated by a large computer that had been placed in the middle. The screen was off. "This is where I do my magic."

He hit the power button that was on the bottom portion of the computer. Soon, it powered on, revealing a white version of the school's logo.

Guestian pointed towards a red file, which was conspicuous considering the rest were blue files. It was titled "SECRET PROJECT 60".

"What's that?" Eiji asked the Hacker, sounding somewhat bewildered.

"I honestly have no clue." Guestian retorted, his face worried. "The file was there when I found it, I just never checked it out. But the description was noteworthy."

"Let's just read it, then," I said, tapping my foot impatiently.

He tapped the screen, guessing it was an interactive kind of computer. The file popped open, but the screen was glitching uncontrollably.

"C-Close it!" Eiji advised. He did just that and clicked the red X at the top of the file.

It returned to normal.

"The file is corrupted, huh? I can barely make heads of it. It's like it's illegible." The Hacker sighed. "You guys can go, I'll see if I can salvage this or... something."

"Alright, thanks anyway!" I shouted, waving a goodbye as Eiji and I stepped into the outside once again.

I sighed, thinking back to the motive. Was what Headmaster Monokuma said really true? Are we all gonna die if nobody is willing to kill within the time limit?

"Moriko?" I heard Eiji's voice, snapping me back into reality. I stopped staring into space and looked him dead in the eye. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just... thinking about some things," I replied. "I don't think it matters."

"Ok, but... just to let you know, you can talk to me whenever you want if anything's on your mind," Eiji said lightheartedly, making me feel a little better.

"O-Ok." I stuttered.

I didn't know what I was feeling. What I was supposed to feel in this kind of moment.

"H-Hey, Yanagisawa. Your face is a little red. Are you okay?" The woodcarver addressed, as I had started to think to myself.

I don't think I'm sick, so...

wait.

Am I...?!

"Y-Yeah, I'm ok!" I stuttered, struggling to push the words out of my mouth. Am I blushing, though? I mean, we're just friends, right?

"Alright, I'll see you later, Moriko!" He exclaimed, waving to me. I waved back, staying silent. Eiji turned around and ran back to the main area. The school. I ultimately decided to follow him, since I had plans to go back to the school. He didn't even look back once.

 **DAY 2 : Resentful Morning : Entrance Hall**

As I got inside the building, I realized that the light that had been beaming through the ceiling of the main hall had somewhat died down. It wasn't as intense as in the early mornings. The monitor was off, too. Thank god, I don't want to waste any more time staring at confusing images.

"Where should I search today?" I mumbled aloud.

I sighed, activating my Mono-Pad again. Checking the second floor, I know that I can investigate that black door upstairs. It has a lab behind it, oh, and look!

Naoki's avatar is in there, too!

Or, if I wanted, I could check the other classroom. And Aiko and Yuru are in the first-floor girls bathroom, and some people have still remained in the cafeteria, but their avatars were just a rotating pink square with a question mark in the middle. I tapped the cafeteria on the map.

 **CAFETERIA:**

 **Bansai**

 **Hiromo**

 **Eren**

 **Cho**

 **Takeshi**

 **Tsukiko**

Huh. Didn't expect it to those people. But for now, I'll go check on a Yuru and see if she is OK. She didn't look too well

I turned and began to traverse down the hallway. It didn't take me a long time to find the bathroom since it was right down the hall. And the door was open too. "I'll be outside. If you need me, call me." I heard a familiar voice say. Wait, isn't that Aiko's voice?

 **EVENING 2 : Afternoon Arbitrary : Girl's Lavatory**

I entered the room, only to be stopped short by the maid's cold gaze as we could only stare at each other.

Then...

there was an odd sound. It was something I cannot describe in words, but it sounded like someone vomiting.

Aiko turned, and I looked over her shoulder, to see that a stall door was opened. Two feet were poking out from it. "Yuru...? Are you okay...?" Aiko asked, obviously sounding worried. Her face was one of a mixture. Both curiosity and fear.

"Y-Yeah... I'm... alright." The supposed Yuru stuttered, wheezing and coughing into one.

Aiko turned towards me. "Someone poisoned her food." The maid explained to me, as I covered my agape mouth. "Thank god she only ate a small portion of it, though. But right now, she's just suffering from supposed stomach pains, diarrhea, vomiting..."

Her voice trailed off, as I decided to try and consider the obvious. Would someone actually try to kill her like that? Seriously?

"Alright. Well, get well soon, Yuru." I don't know why I said that, but what's done is done. She didn't reply. And just got back to puking in the supposed toilet. I sighed, turning around as I left the room.

I closed the door, I decide that I'll probably meet with Naoki now, though. Since he's alone, and all. I ran down the deteriorating hallway, up the abnormally colored stairs, and approached his laboratory door.

 **EVENING 2 : Afternoon Arbitrary : Hallway**

As I closed the door, I decide that I'll probably meet with Naoki now, though. Since he's alone, and all. I ran down the deteriorating hallway, up the abnormally colored stairs, and approached his laboratory door.

A beautiful melody came from inside the room. "Is he already playing the piano?" I thought to myself, as I opened the door, stepping into a room with an entirely different atmosphere.

EVENING 2 : Afternoon Arbitrary : Naoki's Laboratory

Although it was somewhat dark, from what I saw, it appeared to be a music room, with different musical instruments that laid around the room. But as soon as I stepped in, the music stopped.

"Ah, do I have a visitor?" A masculine voice suddenly spoke. I looked in front of me, as a light suddenly shone on a black haired male sitting by an elevated piano.

It was Naoki.

"Have you come here to listen to me play?" He asked me. I shook my head.

The entirety of the room's lights turned on. "I see.." Naoki would mutter in a low voice, sounding disappointed. "Well, you're welcome to stay if you want."

 ** _Free Time Event : Naoki Cavin_**

 ** _Accept?_**

 ** _Yes_**

 _No_

"I have nothing better to do." I shrugged before I placed myself down on a seat. He cleared his throat before he began to resumed to playing the piano once again, his fingers gently stroking against the keys.

It was such a beautiful melody. Because for once in a decade, I felt like crying. That's how good it was!

...

Once it was over, I lifted myself from the seat, before hopping onto the stage. "How'd you learn to play like that?" I asked the Pianist.

"I started playing when I was three," Naoki responded. "Let's just say it's a natural talent."

"And what song were you playing just then?" I asked him. I really sounded like some sort of journalist. Like a reporter, probably.

"It was Alexei Vereshchagin's, it's called Troubles Of Misfortune, if I remember." Naoki hypothesized, brushing away a piece of strand hair that had fallen in-between his eyes. "It was a piece created 16 years ago, on my birthday. He was a very famous composer in my country. It's no wonder that it became such a popular hit it is today."

"...and the popularity of Emiko Saito at his latest performance, he soon became a rising star, and became an Ultimate Pianist." Naoki continued. "He's dead now, so."

He gave a lighthearted chuckle, before crossing his arms. "He was my idol, to be a bit honest." Naoki lamented, looking down at the floor with saddened eyes. "If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have picked up piano. And I wouldn't be here with you either."

Did he really just...?

"Are you perhaps... blushing a bit?" Naoki asked.

The second time, today, huh?

"With what you said, wouldn't that be natural?" I said jokingly, giving the window a quick glance. The sun was a bright orange, and with the light reflecting through the window, I'd be considering that it's probably evening time.

I probably have a few hours left. So I'll visit one more person then go back to my dorm.

"Alright, I guess I should be going now..." I said as Naoki looked up at me, chuckling a bit. "At least I got it off my chest. Thanks for that, Moriko." I nodded and left the room.

 **EVENING 2 : Afternoon Arbitrary : Hallway 2F**

I did what I decided to do, and ran down the stairways, and found myself in the dark spaces of the basement.

Why were the walls metallic down here?

And why can't I see that well down here than upstairs? Was there really no lighting here? Well, besides for the ones planted in the pipes.

The library door was open, though, as the light was pouring into the hallway.

I walked in the room.

"And this, Tsukiko..." I heard a man pause. I turned my head and saw Ryoto hold up a book with his right hand, a pile of them being stacked on top of each other in the left one. "This is the book about Schrodinger's Cat. You put in the Prisoner's Dilemma instead."

"A-Ah! How could I be so careless?!" The pink haired Song Writer yelled in a bewildered manner. I saw her in the far corner of the library. "Sorry..." She paused, sliding the book from out of its place. She got up from the floor as she approached Ryoto. "Give the book to me."

They didn't see me.

I could make them, though.

"Oh, hey..." I spoke up, causing the two to stare at me.

"Ah, great timing, Moriko!" Ryoto exclaimed. "Listen, we can really use your help right now. There were a lot of unneeded stuff I found in my dormitory, so I'm donating them to the school's libraries."

"Y-Yeah." Tsukiko nodded in agreement. " If we had you, we could get this done quicker."

 ** _Free Time Event : Ryoto Unimako & Tsukiko Hana_**

 ** _Accept?_**

 ** _Yes_**

 _No_

"Sure, why not?" I said, stepping into the room. "Great, thanks a lot!" He said, placing the stack of books on top of another stack.

"These are the ones to go to the top shelf, but the ladder isn't all that sturdy." The author explained to me, motioning his hands in a strange sort of way. "I don't want to endanger myself, but you are really tall, so it would be nice if you could put them up there."

I sighed, before approaching the gigantic stack of books before me. These were like, adding them up together, could be at least 7 feet and probably around 3 inches. That is like... 10 inches above me.

I wrapped my hands around the bottom of the stack and lifted the books off the ground. These were really heavy...

Oh well! They need me.

I cautiously walked to the back of the library, staring up at the empty shelf before me. I placed the books on the ground, still staring up at the shelf.

And sighing started to place each book inside, making sure to check each title in the process. What I meant was placing them by alphabetical order, too. I'm just like that.

...

"Alright! I'm done!" I hollered, wiping off the sweat that had been dripping on the side of my face. I could hear Ryoto's voice reply from across the room. "Alright. Thanks, Moriko. That really helped a lot."

I took the Mono-Pad out of my pocket and turned it on. It was five minutes away from turning ten. "We should be going now," I stated, walking over to the other side of the room. I only saw Ryoto there, so Tsukiko probably bailed out.

"Where's the girl?" I asked him.

"She went to the bathroom."

"Ah.." I said, nodding my head in understanding. "I'll be heading back to my dorm in the meantime."

The author nodded. "Okay then. Stay safe, ok?" He advised, as I slipped out of the room.

Damn, this place is really dark at night. I thought to myself as I managed to find the staircase, and ran up. I stopped midway, and looked out the window. It was dark, the sun probably set hours ago. There were multiple street lamps to light the way for me, though.

Altough I worried for Tsukiko's safety, my top priority was making sure I could get to my room safely before I fall asleep outside after the announcement.

Wait.

She could fall asleep in the bathroom, though.

Ah, Aiko and Yuru are probably still there.

I was soon out of the school and into the darkened nit, and was already making my way to the dormitory building. I stared up into the sky that was blanketed with darkness. Thank god for the lights, though. I probably wouldn't find my way around, otherwise.

A few moments later, I stood in front of the dormitory building, and quietly pushed open the door. But it seems like I shouldn't have come at this time.

"Then screw it up for everyone, why don't you!" Ashirami hollered, her face reddened with anger. I soon realized that she was talking to Guestian, who had the expression of annoyance.

"Calm down, Hündin." Guestian said. "Your stuff isn't my responsibility, don't you get that? You leave your shit around for someone to do something to it, don't go blaming them. This conversation is over." He said with an authoritive tone, as he crossed his arms with a face of anger.

"Fine. But you better watch yourself from now on." She warned the man, before stomping off into her open dormitory, slamming the door behind her. Guestian gave a deep sigh, before he realized I was standing in the front door.

"So... what was that about?" I hesitated to ask him. All he could do was shrug. "I broke one of her dolls. But she says I deliberately did it to mess with her." Guestian replied, before giving a deep sigh. "What's her problem, though? She needs to learn to back off sometimes."

An ominous school bell chime had been set off from Guestian's open dorm room.

 ***KING KONG - KING KONG***

"That's the bell." Guestian murmured, staring back at his room.

"Oi, the time is 10 P.M.!" The blue bear hollered with his obnoxious voice.

"Also, the cafeteria and gymnasium doors will lock in a bit, so make sure to not be in the areas when it does." The red bear would advise us. "Goodnight, I wish you the best of luck in surviving the night." The last message the Bears would deliver, before the screen flickered off.

 **NIGHT 2 : Midnight Madness : Dormitory**

"Right, let's head to bed now. I'm dead tired." Guestian muttered. I nodded my head in agreement, as the Hacker soon turned around and made his way to his dorm, hunched over.

As I climbed the stairs that led to my dorm, I began to think. Since he said we had two days starting today, that means we had 'till Day 4's Morning Period to kill, and if we didn't...

We'd all die.

I can't let that happen! I don't even know this people. But... we're just kids. We couldn't murder one another, right?

I soon approached my door, and struggled to get it to open for a good few seconds. As soon as it slowly creaked open, the lights activated.

I closed the door behind me, making sure to lock it in the process.

I was lucky nobody came in last night. Who knows what could've happen.

I immediately jumped into the bed, not even thinking twice of using the snow white blanket that had been provided to me. Rather, I'd escape into the world slumber quite easily.


	6. Part 1-5 : Liberty Crime : School Life

**DAY 3 : Resentful Morning : Bedroom**

 ***KING KONG - KING KONG***

I rubbed my eyes, raising myself from the gigantic bed. I could see the school monitor flashing off as soon as I could see clearly.

Perhaps I just missed the announcement. What GREAT timing.

I jumped out of the bed, and looked around the room for a good five seconds or so.

With a sigh of relief, I made my way towards the door. I mean, now I've seen everything there was to offer in this room, and the bathroom wasn't be any special either. At least I'm alive today, though. That's something.

I stepped out the room, and closed the door behind me.

 **DAY 3 : Resentful Morning : Dormitory**

"Oi, morning, redhead." I heard a familiar voice speak up. I turned around, to see Bansai step out of his dorm the same time I did. His was separated by a door in between us.

"Good morning to you, too." I replied, not knowing what else to say. We remained staring at each other for some time, before the door in-between us opened, as Ryoto stepped out.

He looked at us both rather quickly, before speaking up. "Hello, you two."

I glance over the railing, to see Tsukiko walk out of her dormitory, stretching her body in the process.

"We should go get something to eat at the cafeteria." I suggested, brushing off a long strand of hair that had unknowingly been laying on my shoulder. "I haven't eaten since... well, I haven't eaten since I got here. Not like I'm hungry, though."

Ryoto nodded. "Then, let's not waste anytime, alright?" The author said, with the hint of a smile. Well, it was more of a smirk. I could hear the sound of a door creak quietly echo in the building, but it seems that only I was the one who noticed it. "We're the first ones up, so we can be contributors and make food for everyone!"

"Eh. I don't know how to cook, so I won't do that." Bansai said. I felt half relieved and half disappointed. I wanted to see how good he can cook food. It's a great talent to know, but given his talent, he make make a disaster occur before anybody could say anything about it.

"Well, you can stay here and tell everyone to head to the cafeteria, if you want." I decided to suggest. Bansai sighed, crossing his arms with the aviator shades preventing me from telling what his emotions at this time was.

"Tch, fine with me." The Daredevil smirked, pushing up his shades a bit with his right hand. "I got nothing better to do in these dumps."

"Alright, see ya later then." Ryoto waved an informal goodbye.

"Yeah, bye." Bansai was quick to speak on that one.

"Right..." I mumbled, as I began to walk down the stairs. There was Tsukiko right in the center of the dormitory building, and probably had been when she left her room.

"Hey, Tsukiko!" Ryoto suddenly shouted behind me, causing me to jump a bit. I forgot he was following me to the cafeteria for a second, there.

Tsukiko quickly jumped, taken back by the sudden calling of her name. Once she realized it was us though, it seemed like she relaxed a little bit. "Oh, it's just you guys," Tsukiko said in a somewhat disappointed manner. "So... what's up with you two?"

"Nothing much, we're just heading to the cafeteria." I retorted. "Do you want to come with us?" Ryoto invited, as she nodded in excitement. "Yes! Of course!" She exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

"Calm down, girl.." I mumbled low enough so nobody but I knew what I was saying.

"Okay, let's make our way to the cafeteria then." Ryoto said, before he left the dormitory zone. Me and Tsukiko soon followed suit, and before we knew it, we were at the cafeteria.

 **DAY 3 : Resentful Morning : Cafeteria**

"This place feels rather empty." I said to myself as the three of us walked inside the room. The light that had shone through the ceiling at the center of the ceiling had been covered by a metallic covering, which appeared to be automatic. The chairs also appeared to have been moved and placed back in their original places.

When I turned my head, Tsukiko and Ryoto were in the kitchen preparing food for the rest of us. I could probably help them if I wanted but But I don't feel the need too. I could hear their distant conversation. "Alright, well, can you give me that pot?" He asked Tsukiko, making a racket with whatever was in the cabinet, as he stuck his hand even deep inside the wooden box.

After grabbing a chair at the far end of the table, I leaned my chair back a bit and kicked my feet onto the table, and waited. Soon, more people began to pile up at the cafeteria, grabbing something from the plates that had bee displayed.

...except for one person.

When everyone finished eating, they all placed their plates in one stack.

"Yo, guys." Takeshi spoke up, causing us all to stare at the Cage Fighter in anticipation. "Don't you feel like we're missing someone?"

"Now that you mentioned it, I noticed that someone was missing, too." Cho would add.

 ***KING KONG - KING KONG***

The monitor had flashed to life, revealing Monokuma in some sort of office chair, a glass of red wine in his paw.

"Ugh, what now?" Hiromo would groan.

"This is just a reminder that you now have only a day to kil-" Monokuma paused miss entente, as muttering came from the other side of the screen. "Oh wait, what's this, now..?" The headmaster paused, as he rolled his chair into the far corner of the screen, being mainly cut off. I could hear mumbling occur, but it was too distant too understand. Then, after a few seconds of waiting, he sound his chair back into the center of the screen

"Upupupupu, seems like I've made a mistake!" He said with a maniacal laugh. "To think, one of you bastards really went out and murdered someone. Well, I guess it's because I forced you, ain't it?"

"Hold on, is he serious about this?" Eiji asked, his eyes doubtful. Everyone began to exchange either worried or panicked facial expressions, as the monitor turned off.

Suddenly, the door flung open, with Bansai on the other side. "Yo, guys! You gotta see this!"

"Can you be specific?" Eren asked the Daredevil. "What do you mean?"

The man'd sigh, placing a hand on his hip. "Just... come to the dormitory." He commanded, before turning around and leaving the room, as we stood there, confused.

"Well then, we should follow him." Eren suggested, sounding unaffected by the recent announcement that had just played. "It wouldn't help us to keep the man waiting." The Private Investigstpr swiftly turned, and approached the wooden door.

"Hold on a minute, now!" Takeshi interjected, causing her to retract her hand the door. She turned, still lacking an expression. "Why are you so calm about things? One of our friends just died before the time limit even went to half! Doesn't that mean something to you..?"

"I've worked as a private investigator for most of my life, why should I have feelings for the dead when I could rather do my job and find the culprit sooner?" The girl replied coldly, before she left the room. Does she really not care?

Takeshi winced a bit, taken back by her strangely calm demeanor as she left the room. "The nerve..." He muttered, crossing his arms.

"Y-Yeah, she's kind of right." Yuru stuttered, twiddling her thumbs. "If we investigate the body now, we might find the culprit."

Everyone soon poured out of the cafeteria, as I was the last one to come to the dormitory.

 **DAY 3 : Resentful Morning : Dormitory**

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the dormitory as soon as I stepped inside.

There was Yuru, huddled nearby a dormitory door as Aiko stood over her, a very concerned look on her face. "H-He's... He's really..." Yuru would stutter. Aiko looked at me, motioning me to go inside the room.

That was when I saw it. I... saw it.

But, it was too unbearable to believe.


End file.
